Community groups, health researchers, and academics are calling for a national debate on drug laws.
It comes as Ireland prepares its position on drug prohibition ahead of a special session on the issue by the UN General Assembly in early 2016.
The move for a debate on decriminalisation and legalisation is being led by Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign — an umbrella organisation of community groups, both in Dublin and beyond.
The campaign, launched at a conference yesterday, was backed by health experts and criminologists in the Health Research Board (HRB) and by the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
“A lot of concerns are being raised on the ground on the impact of criminalisation on users,” Anna Quigley, chairwoman of Citywide said.
“Questions are being raised: Why criminalise someone for using a drug, when really it is a health issue and that we’d be better directing resources to the health end, that we should be looking at decriminalisation.”
She said there have also been calls for legalisation of drugs because of the problems associated with the illegal drugs market, including violence and intimidation.
She said the two issues were very different and decriminalisation would be the “least contentious”.
Ms Quigley said there were also strong views we should not legalise as Ireland has not managed its legal drugs well, particularly alcohol and prescription drugs.
Brigid Pike of the HRB said the “taboo” on the debate had been laid down by the UN conventions prohibiting drug use.
Source: Cormac O' Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 22/05/13
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